Two-Tier System - Just a Delusional Fantasy, or Possible Reality?
A two-tiered system in Major League Baseball could be intersting |
I was talking with a friend on the way back from an ultimate frisbee tournament in New Hampshire today, and he brought up an idea about making the MLB a two-tiered system. Not like the minor leagues, mind you, but like European soccer. Normally, this kid is pretty out there. I mean, he isn't a fan of the "Wizard of Oz" and he thinks Star Wars episodes 1-3 are good, so normally I don't pay a lot of attention to him, but he was actually making sense. Just a little background on how soccer works - 3 teams come move up a league every year and three teams are relegated to the next league down. The fights to stay up are usually intense at the end of the season, because if you're playing in England for example, there is a lot of exposure, fame, and most of all, a lot of money to be had by staying in the top flight, as they call in in Europe.
So think for a second - what if that were to happen in Major League Baseball? We didn't have time to talk specifics, but here's my thoughts on how it would work. We keep the American and National leagues intact, but get rid of divisions. Playoff format would stay the same, essentially. The two bottom teams in both the American and National Leagues would go down to the lower division and teams would come up to replace them. It could be a playoff series between the 4 top teams in the each of the lower leagues. And the two winners in each league would come up. Again, this is all theoretical and it probably won't happen, but it would create more excitement, I think, especially late on. It gives lower teams something to play for that normally don't have anything to play for. If you think about it, then the only teams that create any buzz during September are the teams in the playoff hunt. The rest have nothing to play for except pride. I don't know, maybe we're crazy, but I think it could be an interesting prospect that could create more ratings. Feel free to comment or tweet me, @ConorJF1016, because I want your take on this, because this is kind of out there.
So think for a second - what if that were to happen in Major League Baseball? We didn't have time to talk specifics, but here's my thoughts on how it would work. We keep the American and National leagues intact, but get rid of divisions. Playoff format would stay the same, essentially. The two bottom teams in both the American and National Leagues would go down to the lower division and teams would come up to replace them. It could be a playoff series between the 4 top teams in the each of the lower leagues. And the two winners in each league would come up. Again, this is all theoretical and it probably won't happen, but it would create more excitement, I think, especially late on. It gives lower teams something to play for that normally don't have anything to play for. If you think about it, then the only teams that create any buzz during September are the teams in the playoff hunt. The rest have nothing to play for except pride. I don't know, maybe we're crazy, but I think it could be an interesting prospect that could create more ratings. Feel free to comment or tweet me, @ConorJF1016, because I want your take on this, because this is kind of out there.